


in the dreaming hours

by ThatAloneOne



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/F, Literal Sleeping Together, Spoilers for episode 35 and possibly the finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-10-28 00:15:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20769314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatAloneOne/pseuds/ThatAloneOne
Summary: Dani slept, shielded from the world by the swaying curtain and the comforting weight of Aubrey’s presence.





	in the dreaming hours

**Author's Note:**

> The whole idea of this fic is "hey if the rabbit is a person now, why wouldn't Sylvain's energy affect Dani too?". Since I mean, she is around Aubrey a lot. If the Amnesty residents get energy from Sylvain I _mean_.

Aubrey had forgotten to close the curtains again. Dani watched Aubrey snore in her pool of moonlight for a long moment before she closed the curtains and dropped their room back into darkness.

It was late. Later than Dani had meant it to be. Night wasn’t bright, exactly, but Dani could see in the dark like it was day. If she didn't pay attention she'd miss the light leaving entirely and look up to find the stars had come out. For all that, though, it came in handy on nights like this, when she had to pick her way across the room to the bed without tripping on one of the dozen scattered things. Aubrey had declared the room "lived in", which was certainly one way of putting it.

When the blankets were sorted, Dani lifted Aubrey’s arm out of the way and curled into her side. Aubrey’s fingers, resting on the pillow between them, tangled lightly in Dani’s hair. Sleeping next to Aubrey meant solving a puzzle of body parts, but it was worth it. Her arms were always flung out as she slept, the sheets twisted around her stomach, her hair leaving faint red streaks on her pillowcase. Aubrey slept with the same wild abandon that she gave to the rest of her life and Dani loved her for that. Whatever the extra work of arranging wayward limbs, there was nothing that compared to Aubrey’s sleepy warmth.

She hoped Aubrey hadn’t been waiting up. This was still so… new. So something. Dani didn’t quite know what it was, and it didn’t seem like Aubrey knew any better than her. But really, that was okay. Dani would give a lot to keep these long, quiet nights and dawns.

Dani slept, shielded from the world by the swaying curtain and the comforting weight of Aubrey’s presence.

* * *

Later, Barclay was the one who reminded her. Halfway through Dani’s blissful contemplation of a sunny day, his shadow parted the light around her.

He said, “When was the last time you visited the springs?” and he sounded worried and then-

Dani ran.

* * *

It’d been long enough that she should have felt scattered and more than halfway to feral. Dani’s hands couldn’t stop shaking at the thought, blurred beneath the surface of the water. But she’d been there. She remembered that coffin and the way it had felt to start losing pieces of herself.

She didn’t feel that now. Dani felt… fine.

Usually when Dani came to recharge in the hot springs, it felt like something. Some days it felt like regaining the feeling in her fingers and toes and the very tips of her teeth, like defrosting after a long winter. Other days it felt like caffeine in the best kind of way. No matter what, there was always the sensation of regaining something vital.

She didn’t remember the last time she’d come out here, either. It had fallen out of the rhythm of her life. The bubbles scattering beneath her fingers were more familiar than anything else on this planet, but that familiarity led to vagueness. She just couldn’t be sure.

Dani didn’t feel dangerous, however long it had been. She felt like she was being back home, on one of the last good days before the crystal had all but flickered away entirely. Dani didn’t have to go scrambling for the energy to sustain herself. It was there, waiting. Like it was nothing to keep her warm.

Even so, it was a long time before Dani felt safe enough to leave the water behind.

* * *

Aubrey had ricocheted off Dani when she got back from whatever training she’d been doing with Janelle, smacking a kiss on her cheek and spinning off to chatter about flames and magic and other incomprehensible things. Dani watched her clatter around the kitchen, setting a pot of milk of stove and digging for cocoa and Barclay’s stash of cinnamon sticks. He insisted that cinnamon sticks were the one form of tree bark it was socially acceptable to eat, but Dani was pretty sure he was full of shit.

Dani only had to rescue the pot from boiling over once, which meant it was a good day.Aubrey parked herself on the counter to drink her half of the goods, smiling all the while.

Dani wanted to kiss her. Dani wanted to kiss Aubrey until every time she tasted hot chocolate she would think of Aubrey’s warm orange eyes and her bright smile. Dani wanted to abandon her hot chocolate and press Aubrey back against the cabinets and learn what it felt like to have Aubrey laugh against her lips.

Hating Barclay a little bit, she gnawed on the end of her cinnamon stick. The crunch was more satisfying than she’d ever admit.

Aubrey blinked at her, like the sound had reminded her of something. “Hey,” she said, “Dani, you’re okay right? Cause you haven’t said anything since I nearly figured out what happens when you dump milk on a gas flame.”

Dani had to laugh at that. “I’m fine. And I’m sure it would have been fine, _Lady Flame_. I trust you around fire.”

Aubrey was always quick about things. She didn’t take the bait. Instead, she slid off the counter. “You’re sure? Anything I can do?”

Dani’s mouth dried out. Aubrey smiled at her, soft as anything, and stepped forward. Aubrey pressed a soft kiss to Dani’s hair. Between that and the hot chocolate, the knot in Dani’s chest started to loosen. The warmth she found in Aubrey’s arms was enough to fill her heart all the way to the end of the sun. 

**Author's Note:**

> What's a timeline? Who the fuck knows. If details don't match up, that's because the #aesthetic of spooky warm snuggles is more important to me.
> 
> Here's where it's set, vibe wise: after Dani gets out of the coffin, but before Aubrey's Sylvain reveal. 
> 
> <s>the title is from the sims monster factory</s>


End file.
